He has already insisted on scrapping the requirement that NHS regulator Monitor should force hospitals to compete with each other. Unison has also slammed the use of private health companies as a false economy that will cost taxpayers more money.

Christina McAnea, Unison’s health expert, said Labour realised private ops “were not providing the value for money they should have and ended the policy in 2009”.

She added: “These damaging reforms will turn the clock back on the NHS. Handing over care to ‘any willing provider’ will undermine the NHS by hugely increasing the potential of company shareholders to fill their pockets at the expense of the NHS.”